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No. 22 @RazorbackSoccer Set To Face Stephen F. Austin Sunday

BY
Razorback Communications August 30, 2014

AUSTIN, Texas – The No. 22 Arkansas women’s soccer team will close its first road trip of the 2014 campaign with a Sunday morning (Aug. 31) matchup with Stephen F. Austin. The match, which is slated to start at 11 a.m., will be shown on Longhorn Network TV and streamed through ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN app.

UP NEXT
Following Sunday’s matchup with SFA, the Razorbacks will prepare for the Duke Nike Classic. Arkansas will face No. 21 Duke (Sept. 5) and No. 9 UNC (Sept. 7) during the tournament.

WITH A WIN
With a victory over SFA on Sunday morning, Arkansas will be unbeaten, after four contests, for the second consecutive year and the fourth time in program history.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT: STEPHEN F. AUSTIN
SFA and the Razorbacks have met three times dating back to 1996, with Arkansas holding a 2-1 edge. The Razorbacks defeated the Ladyjacks 9-0 (10/6/96) and 3-0 (9/13/09) in Fayetteville, Arkansas, before SFA picked up its first win in a 2-1 conquest (8/27/10) at the SFA Soccer Field in 2010.

The Ladyjacks, who defeated Nevada 3-0 on Friday, Aug. 29, entered the season looking to continue the success that was achieved under head coach Wally Crittenden in his first season. In 2013, SFA became the first three-peat conference champions in Southland history. Along the way, the Ladyjacks matched the best regular season game win total with 15 wins, setting a new shutout record with 14 blankings of the opponent. SFA also posted its first undefeated season on the road with a 9-0-3 mark. Last season, the stout Ladyjack defense led the SLC in goals allowed (12) and shutouts (14) while offense ranked fourth in goals (44) and assists (28). SFA, which at one time led the nation in both respective statistical categories, ended the season ranked ninth nationally with a .636 shutout percentage and 10th nationally with a .520 goals against average.

Fans can also watch the Longhorn Network via ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN app. Affiliated providers for authenticated access currently include AT&T U-verse, Charter, Consolidated Communications, Cox, DISH, Google Fiber, Grande Communications and Verizon FiOS. Fans will need to log into ESPN3 and WatchESPN with their provider log-in credentials to access the network on digital platforms in the home and on the go.

It is also available at no cost to U.S.-based military personnel via computers, smartphones and tablets connected to on-base military broadband and Wi-Fi networks.

@RAZORBACKSOCCER TWEETABLES

With a social media push a week before to the season opener on Friday, Aug. 22, @RazorbackSoccer moved into the Top 25 for Division I women’s soccer Twitter accounts. Arkansas is now No. 23 with 2,861 followers.

The Razorbacks are one of four SEC teams that are currently unbeaten (LSU, South Carolina, Texas A&M).

The tie at Texas on Friday (Aug. 29) marked the fourth time in program history that the Razorbacks have been unbeaten through the first three matches of a season.

With the 2 OT tie with Texas, Arkansas is now 3-1-1 all-time as a ranked team and 5-5-2 in overtime contests under head coach Colby Hale.

LAST TIME OUT: AT TEXAS (FRIDAY, AUG. 29)

Match was delayed two hours due to a lightning delay during the event opener between SFA and Nevada.

1,359 fans were in attendance at Mike A. Myers Stadium to see the Razorbacks and Longhorns matchup.

The Razorbacks dominated play in the second half and both overtime periods and outshot the Longhorns 15-8 and 7-4 in shots on goal, while UT managed a 7-3 advantage on corners. Goalkeeper Cameron Carter earned her eighth career shutout and registered four saves in 110 minutes between the pipes. Tyler Allen and Claire Kelley led the Arkansas offense, registering three shots and two shots on goal each.

At the half, with the score tied at 0-0, Texas led in shots 5-3 and corner kicks 5-2, while the teams were tied 1-1 in shots on goal.

The second half was a totally different story for the Razorbacks, as they dominated play and managed seven total shots and four shots on goal in the period. Sarah Price, Alexandra Fischer, Tyler Allen and Claire Kelley each had good chances to put the ball in the back of the net in regulation, but were unable to finish and the match went into overtime.

In the first OT the Razorbacks recorded the only two shots of the period, with the best chance coming from an Ashleigh Ellenwood shot that went wide.

Arkansas nearly ended things with 7:38 remaining in the second OT as a header by Kelley hit off the crossbar and was cleared away.

With about three minutes left in the contest Texas’ Abby Smith, who has already scored two goals from the keeper position in her Longhorn career, blasted a free kick on goal, but Carter was there for the save and preserved the scoreless deadlock.

SOLID IN GOAL
Over the last two contests for the Razorbacks, goalkeeper Cameron Carter has registered 12 saves and surrendered just one goal in 200 minutes between the pipes. Carter also earned her eighth career shutout in Arkansas’ 0-0 2OT draw with Texas (Aug. 29).

NATIONAL POLLS
The Razorbacks were ranked No. 22 in this week’s TopDrawerSoccer.com Division I Top 25 Poll (Aug. 25) and No. 25 in the NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division I Poll that was released on Wednesday (Aug. 26). The Razorbacks were one of four SEC squads ranked in the two polls (Florida, Texas A&M, South Carolina).

Click HERE to view this week’s TopDrawerSoccer.com Division I Top 25 Poll

ELLENWOOD PICKS UP WEEKLY HONORS
Ashleigh Ellenwood was named to the College Soccer 360 Primetime Performers Weekly Honor Roll and the TopDrawerSoccer.com Women’s Team of the Week after helping lead the Razorbacks to a 2-0 record last week.

Ellenwood’s game-winning goal on Sunday night marked the eighth of her career.

Ellenwood’s goal against Oklahoma State was the 21st of her career.

Sunday’s goal, accompanied with a pair of assists in Arkansas’ 3-1 win over Utah State on Friday night, gives Ellenwood four points in two games on the year.

The two assists against the Aggies gave her the second career multi-assist game of her collegiate career. The first also came against Utah State in last season’s 3-2 win in Provo, Utah on Sept. 13. She now has 10 career assists.

Ellenwood’s two assists against Utah State gave her 50 points for her career, making her just the 10th Razorback player in program history to reach that feat.

Click HERE to view this week’s College Soccer 360 Primetime Performers Weekly Honor Roll
Click HERE to view this week’s TopDrawerSoccer.com Women’s Team of the Week

AWAY FROM HOME
The Razorbacks have an 8-9-1 road record and a 2-2-1 neutral site record under head coach Colby Hale.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME
The Razorbacks are 100-86-14 all-time at home. Under head coach Colby Hale, Arkansas is 16-7-1 on its home pitch. Outscoring the opposition 21-13 with five shutouts, the Razorbacks finished the 2013 campaign with an 8-3 record on their home pitch.

CAREER FIRSTS
ALEXANDRA FISCHER scored a pair of goals in the U of A’s season opener on Friday night (Aug. 22) against Utah State. The two goals were the first multi-goal game of her collegiate career. CLAIRE KELLEY collected the first multi-assist game of her career in the same contest, handing out her third and fourth career assists in the win.

In the 2-1 win over Oklahoma State (Aug. 24), SHELBY PAYNE registered her first assist and point as a Razorback.

SEASON OPENERS/HOME OPENERS
With their 3-1 win over Utah State on Friday night (Aug. 22), the Razorbacks are now 17-11-1 all-time in season openers and own a 19-10 all-time record in home openers. Over the last seven seasons, Arkansas is 8-0 in home openers (dating back to 2007).

Season Opener (SO) Facts

All-Time Season Opener Record: 17-11-1

Won last eight season openers (2007-Present)

Biggest Win Margin: 5, 6-1 vs. Texas Tech (Sept. 2, 2001)

Biggest Loss Margin: 10, 10-0 vs. TCU (Sept. 14, 1986)

SO Record At Razorback Field: 7-1

Record in SO at Home: 9-2-0

Record in SO on Road: 5-8-1

Record in SO Neutral: 3-1

Most goals scored in a season opener by Ark: 6 vs. Texas Tech (Sept. 2, 2001)

Most combined goals: 10 vs. TCU (Sept. 14, 1986)

Arkansas Shutouts: 9 (Most Recent: 2013, 1-0 W vs. Kansas)

Arkansas has shut out five of its last eight opponents in season openers, outscored teams 14-3

Total Arkansas Goals in Season Opener: 60

Total Arkansas Goals Allowed in Season Opener: 55

#SCTop10
In Arkansas’ 2-1 exhibition win over Creighton on Aug. 14, Tyler Allen’s 40-yard free kick goal in the 65th minute proved to be the game-winner. After a Creighton foul, Allen stepped up for a Razorback free kick and delivered a perfectly struck ball 40-yards down field that landed in left-hand side of the goal to break a 1-1 deadlock. Allen’s goal helped Arkansas pick up a victory in a contest they statistically dominated.

Her incredible goal came in at No. 6 on the SportsCenter Top 10 that night.

THE 2014 EDITION OF @RAZORBACKSOCCER
The Razorbacks are coming off a record-setting 2013 season that saw the team collect the most regular season wins in school history (15) and the programs first-ever NCAA Tournament victory. Arkansas will look to improve on those achievements this year as they enter one of the most anticipated seasons in program history.

Arkansas returns 20 players that accounted for 102 of the team’s 136 points from a team that went 15-8-1 and 5-6 in Southeastern Conference play. Of the 12 different players that scored a goal last year, eight return to make up 82 percent (36-of-44) of the goals.

Last season, forward Ashleigh Ellenwood, a 2013 All-SEC second team choice led the Razorbacks with 35 points on team-highs of 14 goals and 7 assists. Over the 24-game season, Ellenwood registered a point in 14 of those contests, highlighted by six game-winning goals which set a new program single-season record.

TOP 100 UPPERCLASSMEN
Junior Ashleigh Ellenwood was named among Top Drawer Soccer’s women’s National Top 100 Upperclassmen. Ellenwood clocked in at the No. 54 spot.

The Michigan City, Ind., native enters her junior season on the heels of an All-SEC second team choice. Ellenwood led the Razorbacks with 35 points on team-highs of 14 goals and 7 assists a year ago to help Arkansas win a program-best 15 games. Over the 24-game season, Ellenwood registered a point in 14 of those contests, highlighted by six game-winning goals which set a new program single-season record.

DUO NAMED TO THE COLLEGE SPORTS MADNESS PRESEASON TEAM
Forward Ashleigh Ellenwood and defender Kaylyn Cooper were named to the College Sports Madness SEC Soccer Preseason All-Conference Teams.

Ellenwood, who earned All-SEC second team honors last season, was named to the first-team preseason all-conference squad. Cooper, an anchor of the Arkansas backline that registered five shutouts last season, earned a spot on the second team.

NATIONAL PRESEASON POLLS
The Razorbacks were ranked No. 23 in the 2014 TopDrawerSoccer.com Preseason Poll that was announced on Monday, Aug. 11. The Razorbacks were one of four SEC squads ranked in the Top 25 along with No. 4 Texas A&M, No. 5 Florida and No. 9 South Carolina.

Arkansas, one of seven SEC programs to at least receive votes in the NSCAA preseason top 25 poll, will face four opponents ranked in the TopDrawerSoccer.com Preseason Poll in No. 4 Texas A&M, No. 5 Florida, No. 8 North Carolina and No. 12 Duke. The Gators and the Aggies will both battle the Razorbacks at Razorback Field this season.

PRESEASON SEC POLL
With 20 letterwinners, including eight starters, returning from last year’s NCAA Sweet Sixteen squad, the Arkansas women’s soccer team was tabbed eighth in the SEC Preseason Coaches’ Poll, announced by the league office on Monday, Aug. 11.

Here’s what they had to say about head coach Colby Hale and his Razorbacks:

“It was a breakout campaign for head coach Colby Hale and the Razorbacks, winning the program’s first-ever NCAA tournament game, advancing all the way to the third round before bowing out to Duke on penalty kicks. Forward Ashleigh Ellenwood, whose play in 2013 helped her earn a call-up to a U.S. U23 WNT camp, looks to lead the program’s encore, as they continue to climb the regular season conference standings. In all, eight of the team’s starters from last year’s squad are back, including Jeriann Okoro, Tyler Allen and Claire Kelley.”

U-23 US NATIONAL TEAM CAMP
Ashleigh Ellenwood got an early jump on her preparation for the 2014 campaign when she participated in the U.S. Under-23 Women’s National Team Domestic Training Camp from July 15-22 in Seattle, Wash.

A total of 24 players that were either current collegiate athletes or just played their senior season last fall made up the roster that will be led by head coach Steve Swanson over the seven days.

For more information on Arkansas soccer, follow @RazorbackSoccer on Twitter.